Redefining Success: How to Build Without Sacrifice with Liz Hartke #125

In this episode Paul sits down with Liz Hartke—founder of Luminary Leadership, creator of the Overflow CEO Mastermind, and host of Your Big Next—to explore what it really means to build with integrity. Liz shares the moment a trusted mentor told her she was “drastically underperforming” her potential (despite major wins), how that wake-up shifted her from forcing growth to leading from overflow, and why how you build is as important as what you build. They dig into integrating family and business, leadership bottlenecks, the “Visionary Matrix” (hard/light vs easy/heavy), and the life-altering story that birthed her upcoming book.

Quick Links

• Clarity Prompt Gift: DM Liz the word “clarity” on Instagram (handle in links) or visit /clarity on her Luminary Leadership site (we’ll link in the episode page).
• Liz’s podcast: Your Big Next (subscribe for deep-dive leadership episodes).

Key Takeaways

• Family first isn’t a slogan—it’s a design choice. Integrate business with family values; don’t compartmentalize.
• How you build matters. If the journey costs your marriage, health, or presence with your kids, the “win” isn’t a win.
• Leadership is the ceiling. When growth plateaus, the founder—not the funnel—is usually the bottleneck.
• Visionary Matrix: Aim for hard but light (calling-aligned challenges) and cut easy but heavy (low-friction work that drains you).
• From force to overflow. Scale the person first; then strategy compounds.
• Intention ≠ impact. Your family experiences the impact of your choices, not the intention behind them.
• Courage over fear. Fear often hides under “strategy.” Ask: What’s the alternative if I don’t change?
• Bring your inner circle. Liz’s mastermind invites spouses and right-hands to keep growth aligned and executable.

Chapter Guide

• 00:00–02:00 — Opening & why family moments beat business milestones
• 02:00–04:40 — Liz’s multigenerational family roots & entrepreneurship as a vehicle
• 04:40–08:10 — The mentor’s gut-punch: “You’re underperforming your potential”
• 08:10–10:40 — Numbers vs. becoming the leader you’re called to be
• 10:40–14:30 — Freedom, scale, and the cost of the journey
• 14:30–18:15 — From strategist to leadership scaler: unlocking the founder
• 18:15–21:10 — Awareness, patterns, and moving from force to overflow
• 21:10–24:35 — Living one integrated identity—at work and at home
• 24:35–27:05 — Book launch vs. baby due date: choosing alignment over optics
• 27:05–31:35 — Wake-up calls, fear, and shifting the ladder to the right wall
• 31:35–35:20 — Potential creates new mountains; climb with joy, not sacrifice
• 35:20–40:30 — Doing the right thing: intuition, moral code, and mentors
• 39:17–41:33 — Visionary Matrix: easy/heavy vs hard/light decisions
• 41:33–45:10 — Scheduling thinking time; getting off the treadmill
• 45:10–50:48 — The loss, the haemorrhage, and the genesis of Your Big Next
• 50:48–54:20 — Tools: Visionary CEO Schedule & living your legacy now
• 54:20–56:41 — Overflow CEO Mastermind (bring spouse + right-hand) & closing

Notable Quotes

• “How you build the thing is as important as the thing you build.” — Liz
• “The business had outgrown their leadership.”
• “Hard but light beats easy but heavy. If it’s heavy, it’s a signal.”
• “Intention doesn’t matter—impact does. That’s what your family feels.”

About Liz Hartke

https://luminaryleadershipco.com/

Founder of Luminary Leadership, Liz mentors established entrepreneurs to shift from operator to visionary, scale from force to overflow, and build companies that honour family and values. She leads the Overflow CEO Mastermind, blending leadership work with practical business strategy, and hosts the podcast Your Big Next. Her forthcoming book distils these principles into actionable frameworks.

Connect with Paul Ryan:

https://www.theonehourceo.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-ryan-9a98774/